This report is on the first gig of The Dubliners tour in Denmark and Sweden 2009.

Aabybro Hallen is a multi-purpose hall in a small town close to Aalborg in North Jutland, Denmark. The Dubliners’ concert was organized by Niels Eske Nyhus, director of Nordjyllands MedieCenter and his motivated team. The venue was sold out with 760 people, though many more tickets could have been sold for this only concert of The Dubliners in North Jutland. The seating was arranged along long tables where dinner was served at the beginning of the evening. All tables were nicely decorated with candles – at tribute to the Danish tradition of creating a “hyggelig” (=cosy) surrounding whenever people get together in a relaxed atmosphere. The organizers had also ordered 800 l of delicious red ale that was brewed in the nearby microbrewery of Gjöl specially for this
event.

Not only the surroundings - the audience too were quite different to what one might experience in Dubliners’ concerts throughout Europe. Many in the hall apparently have gone most of the way with The Dubliners since they started touring Denmark in 1972. The atmosphere started out rather quiet with people listening very intense and concentrated, and remained such for most of the gig towards the finish when suddenly the hall sprang into
action.

First there played a young local band, Pindsvin I Pigsko, and finally the highlight of the evening entered stage: The Dubliners!
We met the lads powerful and in an excellent mood. They performed a well balanced show following the audiences’ mood with the experience of 37 years on Danish
stages.

As usual Sean spoiled the audience with his excellent knowledge of foreign languages, performing both welcome and fairwell in Danish, not to forget his Gaelic contribution to the evening, “Cill Chais”. John and Eamonn managed to turn the murmur of a multi-purpose hall into the silence of a cathedral, catching the attention of the listeners with their always fascinating and touching interpretation of “St. Patricks Cathedral”. If there were any speed control in playing jigs and reels Barney would have been high on the list for speeding that night. “Poor” Eamonn was working hard to keep up a hot pursuit – but of course he never gave in! Patsy quickly picked up the heightened mood of the audience at the old favorites like “Whiskey in the Jar” and “Wild Rover”, and spontaneously produced another encore with the “Irish Rover”. Which left the classical finish – “Molly Malone” – and standing ovations in Aabybro Hall, deep in Northern
Jutland.

A big applause for these five wizards enchanting every audience with their magic. Be it on a festival, in a classical concert hall or in a multi-purpose hall like the one that hosted them so charmingly in Aabybro.